Scripting

It's amazing that every so often, you realize you can streamline certain processes in Maya. I've come up with two handy functions you can run to perform tasks that usually take upwards to 5-10 minutes. Here's a couple I've just come up with.

1. Create Me Here - Create a specific node type at a selected object's position - with the ability to have the object parented to the selected object.

2. Quick Multiply/Divide Setup - Set up a quick connection between two selected nodes, on given attributes and axis.

I came across an interesting use case in Maya where I wanted to temporarily store information about selections of vertices. So that when I click away to move a control of a rig/etc. I can quickly get back to what I was doing with the vertices without thinking too much of which vertices they were. So, I decided to write a handy UI script in Python for Maya to do this exact thing. I suspect it will come in handy down the road, as it supports all sorts of selection types.

Sometimes the simplest of scripts in button form become the best things ever. I wrote this in two minutes, committed it to a button on the tool shelf and it's been indispensable since. It's function is simple, take two points (ie. vertexes,joints,groups, you name it!) and mirror them across the X axis. It's useful for fixing things like vertexes on a rig that somehow got un-mirrored in the modelling process, or joints that you thought were aligned, no longer are. It's an answer for some of those problems where you're wondering, if copy attributes or mirror attributes are enough. I find myself more times just wanting to mirror the thing I wanted, rather than dig through panels and windows.